Sign Language and Literacy Activities for Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook

Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook Michael Garland

Activity One – Vocabulary Introduction Targeted Skill(s):

Vocabulary development

Instructions: Prior to reading the story, pre-teach the vocabulary terms that are essential to comprehension of the

story. Suggested vocabulary terms to be pre-taught are listed below. Write the vocabulary term on a large piece of paper, demonstrate the sign for the vocabulary term, and use the illustrations from the book to provide visual aides. Request that the children sign the vocabulary term with you. Vocabulary Terms:

Materials:

List of vocabulary terms

Large piece of paper

Marker

Photographs of each sign (attached)

arrive swashbuckling pirate tale breeze

waves pounding ship adventure grinned

dragon knight fright pounced yank

tumbled amazement crowded chaos pleaded

screeching ruffled adjusted spellbound skidded

Activity Two – Are You Aware? Targeted Skill(s):

Phonological awareness (word, syllable, and phoneme awareness)

Instructions: Word, syllable, and phoneme awareness are desired skills for becoming an ac-complished reader. Word awareness is defined as one’s ability to recognize words as separate units, syllable awareness as one’s ability to identify the number of syllables within a word, and phoneme awareness as one’s ability to focus on specific sounds within a word. Use the following examples to illustrate each skill. Ask the children to identify the number of words in the sentence (word awareness), the number of sylla-bles within the word (syllable awareness), and the specific sounds within the word (phoneme awareness). Divide the children into two teams. Alternating between the teams, provide each team with a word awareness, syllable awareness, or phoneme awareness task. Word Awareness: Zach was waiting for his teacher to arrive.

How many words do you see in this sentence?

Let’s count together. You’re right. Eight words make up the sentence.

Syllable Awareness: Arrive Ask the children to recall the six vowels. If children struggle, list a variety of letters

on a large piece of paper, allow children to guess, and take turns circling the

vowel sounds.

Explain that in order to find the number of syllables, the following steps must be

taken. List these steps on a large piece of paper for the children to refer to.

Count the vowels in the word.

Subtract the silent vowels.

When two vowels are side by side, subtract one vowel.

The number of vowels you see is equal to the number of syllables in the

word!

How many vowels do you see in the word “arrive?”

Yes, there are three vowels in arrive, a, i, and e.

Are any of the vowels silent? Yes, the “e” is silent. It does not make any

sound.

Are any of the vowels next to eachother? You’re right, none of the vowels

are stuck together. They are each broken up by consonants.

How many syllables? Yes, two syllables, a-rrive.

Phoneme Awareness: Tale

What is the first sound in the word “tale?” You’re right /t/ is the first

sound. What is another word that begins with the /t/ sound?

What is the last sound in the word “tale?” Yes, /l/ is the last sound in the

word “tale.” Can you think of another word that ends in the /l/ sound?

Materials:

Word Awareness Cards

Syllable Awareness Cards

Phoneme Awareness Cards

Activity Three – Letter Storybook Targeted Skill(s):

Print concepts

Instructions: A variety of familiar fairy tale characters emerge as Miss Smith reads from her book. Instruct children to create their own storybook by matching the first letter of the various fairy tale characters (upper case letters) to the corresponding lowercase letter. Encourage children to color the picture of the fairy tale character on the left page and the correct lowercase letter on the right page. Compile each template and staple the pages to create a storybook. As children complete their storybooks, request that they retell Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook by addressing the order in which the characters emerged. Materials:

Storybook Templates

Crayons, colored pencils, or markers

Stapler

Vocabulary Term

Definition

Description of the Sign

arrive

• to come to a certain point during travel

• begin with the palm of one hand facing toward the body and the other on the shoulder of the same arm

• move the hand from the shoulder into the opposite hand so that the back of the hands rests in the palm of the other hand

swashbuckling

• adventurous • place the palms of the hands together and move the hands in a back and forth motion rapidly

• bend the index and mid-dle finger of one hand

• with the palm facing downward, move the hand from side to side

pirate

• a person who robs or commits violence at sea

• place the palm of one hand over the top of one eye

tale

• a story

• graze the fingertips of one hand over the back of the opposite hand

• turn the wrists and repeat

breeze

• movement of the air

• windy

• place the hands in front of the body with the fingers spread apart

• move the hands from side to side

waves

• movement on the surface of water

• begin with the index, middle, and ring fingers pointing upward

• touch the index finger to the chin

• squeeze the fingers of both hands together and move the hands outward in an up and down motion

pounding

• to beat repetitively with force

• begin with the index, middle, and ring fingers pointing upward

• touch the index finger to the chin

• squeeze the fingers of both hands together and move the hands outward in an up and down forceful motion

ship

• a large, floating boat propelled by sails or an engine

• squeeze the fingers of both hands together

• place the sides of the hands together, creating a “cup”

• slowly move the hands in a forward, up and down motion

adventure

• an exciting and unusual experience

• place the palms of the hands together and move the hands in a back and forth motion rapidly

• bend the index and middle finger of one hand

• with the palm facing downward, move the hand from side to side

grinned

• to smile • touch the middle of the lips with both index fingers

• draw the index fingers outward to the corners of the mouth

dragon

• a mythical monster represented as a huge, winged, reptile with claws and teeth and often spitting fire

• stretch the thumb and the pinky finger outward while the index, middle, and ring fingers are folded down

• touch the thumb to the corner of the mouth

• move the hand away from the mouth, while lifting the three fingers

knight

• a soldier of the Middle Ages

• begin with the fingers of the hand spread apart and move backward over the shoulder

• place both hands in the fist position

• place the hand that is on the same side of the body just above the hip and place the hand that is on the opposite side of the body just below the shoulder

fright

• to be afraid • begin with the hands in fists next to the sides of the body

• bring the fists forward, while spreading the fingers of both hands

pounced

• to leap

• to jump

• to swoop

• begin with one palm facing upward

• bend the index and middle fingers of the opposite hand and place the tips of the fingers on the palm facing upward

• elevate and move the tips of the fingers slightly forward

yank

• to pull • to tug

• place both hands in the fist position

• repetitively pull toward the body

tumbled

• to fall helplessly down

• begin with one palm facing upward

• bend the index and middle fingers of the opposite hand and place the tips of the fingers on the palm facing upward

• bend the wrist forward

amazement

• to be overwhelmed with surprise

• begin with the finger of both hands spread apart and the hands to the sides of the body

• wiggle the fingers as the hands move toward the middle of the body

• end with both hands in the fist position on top of each other

crowded

• filled

• packed full

• begin with the palms of both hands facing down-ward and the fingers spread apart

• simultaneously move the hands away from the body

chaos

• confusion

• disorder

• begin with the palms of the hands facing toward each other

• slightly bend both thumbs and all fingers

• bend one wrist forward and one wrist backward

• slightly raise both hands as the wrists bend in opposite directions again

pleaded

• to attempt to persuade

• begin with the palm of one hand facing upward

• place the back of the opposite hand on top of the palm facing upward

• slightly bend the tips of the fingers of the hand on top repetitively

screeching

• a loud and unpleasant sound

• extend the thumb, and index and middle finger outward

• turn the hand toward the body with the thumb lifting straight up

• rapidly move the hand from one side of the body to the opposite side of the body

ruffled

• to quickly turn the pages of a book

• begin with the palm of one hand facing upward and the thumb of the opposite hand pointing upward

• repetitively and rapidly touch the tip of the thumb to the palm of the opposite hand

adjusted

• to change something so that it fits

• place both hands on the side of the face, parallel to the eyes

• slightly move the hands upward and downward, as if to adjust glasses

spellbound

• fascinated • begin with the finger of both hands spread apart and the hands in the line of peripheral vision

• wiggle the fingers as the hands move diagonally toward the middle of the body

• end with both hands in the fist position on top of each other

skidded

• to slide forward quickly

• begin with the palm of one hand facing upward, slightly bend the index and middle fingers of the opposite hand

• place the tips of the fingers on the palm of the hand

• rapidly drag the tips across the palm

1. arrive

2. swashbuckling, adventurous

3. pirate

4. tale

5. breeze

6. waves

7. pounding

8. ship

9. adventure - see swashbuckling

10. grinned

11. dragon

12. knight

13. fright

14. pounced

15. yank

16. tumbled

17. crowded

18. chaos

19. pleaded

20. screeching

21. ruffled

22. adjusted

23. skidded

Word

Awareness

It was the

first day of

school.

Why would this

year be any

different from

the last one?

My name is Miss

Smith and I am

your new teacher.

When she sat at her desk

and started to read from

the book she had brought

with her, Zack couldn’t

believe his eyes.

The storybook characters

came to life, and the

classroom was swept up in a

swashbuckling pirate tale.

Zack and the rest of

his class were right in

the middle of the

story.

He could feel the

breeze in his hair and

hear the waves pounding

on the side of the ship.

Every day there

was a new story to

look forward to.

When Miss Smith

finished reading, all the

characters and

adventure whooshed

back into her book.

Principal

Rittenrotten

started to read.

Zack grinned when a

princess leaped out of the

book, followed closely by a

fire-breathing dragon and a

brave knight.

“I’m going for help!”

he called over his

shoulder as he ran out

the door.

The princess, the dragon,

and the knight did not

return to the book, but

the Three Bears and

Goldilocks climbed out!

Zack shook his head in

amazement when the Mad

Hatter, the Chesire Cat,

and Alice popped out to

join the others.

The classroom

was getting very

crowded.

“Why don’t you

finish the

stories?” Zack

pleaded.

Miss Smith

appeared in the

doorway.

Uh-oh…there seems

to be a little problem,

she said to herself as

she raced inside.

With one look, she

let everyone know

she meant

business.

She ruffled through

the pages, adjusted

her glasses, and

started to read.

With a swirl and a whoosh,

one character after

another disappeared into

the book, until the

classroom was quiet and

tidy again.

Principal Rittenrotten and

a team of firefighters

skidded to a halt at the

door, just as Miss Smith

closed her book.

Miss Smith

flashed a secret

smile at her class.

Who would have

ever guessed that

reading could be

so much fun?

Syllable

Awareness

story

pounding

new

whooshed

principal

shoulder

dragon

head

crowded

chaos

pleaded

problem

doorway

business

glasses

quiet

team

secret

reading

school

different

teacher

book

characters

Phoneme

Awareness

middle

ship

look

back

to

brave

help

knight

shook

halls

getting

Zack

raced

Miss

let

glasses

and

team

smile

fun

read

classroom

day

last

Alice

o

c

a

Bears

b

d

p

Big Bad Wolf

b

g

p

o

c

b

Cheshire Cat

b

d

p Dragon

b

d

g

Goldilocks

Humpty Dumpty

h

m

n

t

l

i Little Red Riding Hood

m

n

w Mad Hatter

d

q

p

Pig

b

g

p

Pirate

b

g

p

Princess

r

j

f

Robin Hood

s

c

z

Scarecrow